Answer:
We know that the box has:
0.6lb of caramels
3.6lb of coconut.
Then the total mass of candy in the box is:
0.6lb + 3.6lb = 4.2lb
This is the 100% of the box.
Now, we can write this as:
4.2lb = 100%
For example, if we want to know which percentage is caramels, we write the equation:
0.6lb = X
We want to find the value of X
Then we have two equations:
0.6lb = X
4.2lb = 100%
Let's take the quotient of these two equations:
(0.6lb/4.2lb) = X/100%
Now we can solve this for X:
(0.6lb/4.2lb)*100% = X = 14.3%
the caramels represent the 14.3% of the wheight of the box.
And for the coconut candy, we have the relation:
3.6lb = Y
Now let's do the same again, we start with the two equations:
3.6lb = Y
4.2lb = 100%
Take the quotient:
(3.6lb/4.2lb) = Y/100%
Solve for Y:
(3.6lb/4.2lb)*100% = Y = 85.7%
Now we found the percentage that represent each type of candy in the box.